Saudi bloggers are campaigning for the release of their most famous colleague, arrested last month after slamming religious extremism and demanding political reforms in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom.

Family and friends remain in the dark about where Fouad al-Farhan is being held and the charges against him since security agents detained him on 10 December at his office in Jeddah. According to a report on the News24 site, Farhan declares on his blog (www.alfarhan.org) that he is pursuing 'freedom, dignity, justice, equality, shura (consultation) and other missing Islamic values'. He also says his endeavours are for Raghad and Khattab – his 10-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Farhan was being held for 'interrogation for violating non-security regulations,' said Interior Ministry spokesperson General Mansur al-Turki.
Full report on the News24 site